After the Proposal, Before the Acceptance
by Miss McKeil
Summary: Bart has proposed to Lily. He and Erik have a talk in the kitchen before she accepts.


After the Proposal, Before the Acceptance

The holidays were finally over and his mother had returned from her trip with her new beau. Lily hadn't given him an answer about his marriage proposal and Eric knew Bart was getting anxious about it.

Lily would say yes, she never said no to a marriage proposal. And Bart, he was a scary dude but he seemed half normal at Christmas before they left. It was weird that his son wasn't there but Eric didn't know him and apparently Serena didn't like him. So Bart would have been the only one who would have missed him, and he didn't seem too upset.

Eric had asked him where Chuck was and Bart just shrugged and said he had gone to Monaco for the holiday with Nate. Lily had seemed momentarily disappointed that Chuck wouldn't be joining them but she seemed to get over it after Bart mentioned that they would see him in a few days.

Now they were back from their trip abroad, and Eric could hear them talking and laughing in the kitchen. He had told his mother he would be out for the evening but his plans had changed. He just hoped they were wearing clothes as he approached the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm home!" he wanted to give them some warning before he saw them screwing on the suite's counter. Luckily, his mother came out to greet him fully clothed.

"Darling, you said you would be out all night. Is everything okay?" She hugged him tightly. He had missed her while she was away and enjoyed the hug even if he could smell Bart's cologne on her.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Plans just changed. Where is Serena?"

"Oh, your sister is out with Blair." She lowered her voice supposedly so Bart wouldn't hear. "I hope you don't mind that Bart is here. We were just getting ready to eat. Are you hungry?"

"No, I don't mind that he's here. Yes, I'm hungry. No, I don't want to join you."

"Oh, don't be silly, eat with us. It's been just the two of us for days and I've missed you."

Bart chose that moment to join them in the room's vestibule. "Is everything okay? The food is getting cold. Hi, Eric. I thought you were out tonight."

Lily turned to Bart. "Yes, dear, everything is fine. Eric's joining us. I hope that's all right?" She pouted at Bart like he would actually deny her anything.

"No, mom, really, I'll go to my room, you won't even know I'm here." Like Eric wanted to sit and listen to their boring stories about the trip Eric hadn't been invited to go on, hadn't been told about until his mother was packing and leaving within the hour. He had been sitting alone in the hotel suite for a week with no mother and no sister to keep him company, he could certainly go another twelve hours.

"Don't be ridiculous. Eat with us. I'd like to get to get to know you more. Your mother hasn't stopped talking about you and your sister. I feel like I already know you."

Eric knew he should have just stayed out for a while longer but he really just wanted to be away from people for a while. But he knew he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of having dinner with them if Bart was insisting he should join them. He hadn't become a billionaire by the time he was thirty by getting beaten in debates by fifteen year olds. At least they were both fully clothed even to the point where Bart still wore his shoes and his tie was still around his neck. Eric had been mildly panicked when Bart had dressed down at Christmas and had taken his damn shoes off.

Eric followed them to the dining area. Eric couldn't wait to move back into their condo. He was so tired of the sterile uniformity of the suite. Serena was right about the identical surroundings getting to you after a while and she had only been back a few months.

They ate their dinner while Bart talked about their long flight and how he had made some important contacts while away. Eric had thought it was supposed to be a vacation, but he supposed when you're a CEO of such a large corporation, you probably don't get to take many vacations if you want to remain profitable. At least that's the impression he got from Bart. Eric really tried to pay attention to the conversation because his mother kept looking at Bart adoringly, even if there was still a noticeable absence of a giant engagement ring, and he could tell Bart liked having a captive audience. Eric was just so bored and his phone kept vibrating in his pocket and he really wanted to check it but that would be rude. So he made appropriate comments to their stories of their trip and made polite conversation through dessert. When Bart asked if Eric would be interested in a summer internship, Lily thought it was a great idea, but Eric sidestepped it and said he'd have to think about it. He didn't have to think about it. Eric wasn't exactly sure what the main focus of Bass Inc was, but it seemed so dull and Eric needed a little excitement. Hotels and real estate did not do it for him.

Not long after they had finished their desserts, Bart excused himself to make a call, leaving Eric and Lily alone finally.

"Mom, what do you see in him? He is so dull."

Lily seemed shocked. "I thought we were having a nice evening, Eric. Why are you being like this?"

"Like what, exactly? I can't ask a question?"

"Like your sister. I'm so tired of you kids getting into my business. You will not tell me who I can date, you will not tell me who I can marry. Yes, I plan to accept his proposal so you should just get used to him being here."

Eric snapped back at her, "Of course you're going to marry him. You never say no to a proposal. That's why he's going to be husband number four. I don't know why you're hesitating, just put the ring on and set a date." Lily didn't respond and she couldn't look at her son. Eric left without another word, passing Bart in the hallway.

He went and hid in his room for the rest of the night with an open textbook beside him as an excuse for not talking in case his mother came in to try to smooth things over. He wasn't interested in talking to her right now. She never came in and Eric heard them go into the bedroom after a while. He put on his headphones, not wanting to hear anything that may be happening next door.

He wasn't expecting to see Bart later that night in the kitchen getting water. He was in his underwear and a t-shirt, he hadn't bothered to put on a robe. No wonder Eric heard people talking disdainfully about Bart Bass. Apparently the new money didn't come with decency. (Wow, was that his grandmother's voice?)

"Oh, hi, Eric. You're up late." Bart drank from his glass and sat down on a stool.

"Yeah, I got hungry again." Eric lied. He wanted to look for clues about Bart to use against him to avoid having a new stepdad. It was stupid, the new husband always tried so hard in the beginning and then after about a month, they all give up. Eric hadn't figured out if it was the guys or his mother or both.

"Can we talk for a few minutes?" Eric inwardly groaned. He wasn't in the mood for this but he wordlessly sat next to Bart and waited for him to start. "You know, I'm sure it isn't easy for you. You don't know anything about me and I don't know you and your sister. But I know your mother and she's a great lady and a good woman. I love her and I want to make her happy. And I plan to spend the rest of my life trying to make her happy if she'll let me. Now, maybe my proposal was sudden. She has made that abundantly clear to me and I'm not going to pressure her for an answer but it would be great if you didn't try to sabotage it. I've already had to deal with the damage Chuck did to the relationship, I don't want to have to do it again."

"Don't worry about me. I don't care what she does. She certainly has never asked us before about how we felt about any of the other clowns she dated or married. Why would you be any different? You'll be gone in a month anyway. Ring or not. They always are, Bart. So don't get your hopes up. Besides, Serena would be the one you really need to worry about, but even she's given up. We already talked about it and we don't care anymore."

"Well, hopefully it's different this time. I don't plan to leave when things get difficult. And I hope you can give me a chance to prove it. To you and to your mother." Bart studied Eric for a moment. "I should get back to bed. Good night, Eric." Bart patted him on the shoulder as he passed Eric and Eric shivered at the feeling it left behind. He hadn't realized a human touch could be simultaneously warm and cold.

Eric went back to his own room and he could hear faint murmurs in his mother's room beside his. Another reason to be anxious to return to the condo next week. His room was so far from Lily's, but here, they were on top of each other.

Eric slipped into an uneasy sleep and he dreamed of a dull internship, an overbearing stepdad, and a Stepford-wife mother. And when he was on his way out to school, he caught a glimpse of his mother with the engagement ring on her hand.

A/N: I do love van der Bass, and I love reviews :-P


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